Your questions on the best let property insurance

Here are some questions and answers that may arise in the context of discussing the best let property insurance.

I have several properties – do I need to take out landlords insurance online for each of them?

Landlords insurance is obligatory if you wish to have insurance cover for a property you are obtaining rental income from.

However, you may not need to have an individual insurance policy for each of your individual properties. It may be possible to take out what is called property portfolio insurance that would group your properties into a single element of cover.

This may offer both cost and administrative advantages for you.

Is it true that subsidence cover is not always included?

That may be correct.

At one time, subsidence was typically covered by landlords buildings insurance, however, that may no longer be the case.

If it is a particular risk to your property or one that you understandably are concerned about, then the best let property insurance for you may be those policies that do include it as standard.

What does unoccupied property insurance mean?

A standard landlords insurance policy may recognise that your property cannot be continually occupied and that (e.g.) your tenants may go on holiday etc.

As a result, such policies may provide cover for short-term unoccupied properties for up to a specified number of consecutive days – typically 30-45. After that time, if the position continues (e.g. you have building work that overruns) then your insurance may lapse.

This is because insurance providers may see unoccupied properties as constituting a higher risk and to continue to provide cover, they may require you to take out additional unoccupied property protection.

Why does my policy exclude certain categories of tenant?

Some insurance providers may regard certain categories of tenants as being higher risk than others – in other words, they may be more likely to result in claim situations.

As a result, some policies may exclude categories such as students or DSS recipients etc.

By contrast, some other policies may cover any type of tenant you choose to let to.

What does health and safety compliance have to do with insurance?

Your legal obligations as a landlord may be complicated and this article should not be interpreted as legal advice.

What can be said is that some landlords insurance policies may contain conditions that relate to the need for you to comply with prevailing health and safety regulations (plus any other applicable law) for your insurance to be fully valid.

This may include the need for you to (e.g.) ensure that you attend to gas safety inspections as required by law and so on.

This type of requirement may be relatively commonplace in insurance policies of this nature, even those you may consider to be the best let property insurance.